Digimon: Guardians of Light
by charliepaceluver117
Summary: The Digital World is in trouble again by some unknown threat, and a new group of Digidestined must be formed. Now they must somehow work together and save this world, and everything in it, before it is too late...bad summary, please read! T just in case
1. Prologue

**This is my first Digimon fanfic, so I hope you all like it! Please read and review, and I'll update soon, hopefully. Oh, I guess I should do this:**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Digimon (unfortunately), but these characters are mine! **

Prologue

It was a destructive night. As four figures stood on a hill under the bright moonlit-sky, a nearby fire raged on, trees turning to black as smoke billowed upwards. Yet, the figures didn't seem worried. They continued to stand, whispering inaudible things while staying completely calm. A caw of what seemed like a bird echoed in the background, but they didn't notice a thing.

"Years have passed," one person murmured, her voice twinkling like bells, "and the light has been protected."

"That doesn't mean," another person continued, this one a man- his voice rough yet young, "that the light will always be safe. The Darkness will return again, and we will not be here to protect it. I think it is time."

The only other woman began to talk, slightly shorter than the others and her voice slightly younger. "The prophecy spoke of a time when we would not be here, and a new generation would come and take our places. Even though it pains me to say so, I agree that our time is finished, at least for now."

The first woman gazed off into the distance, longing in her eyes. As the wind picked up, she wrapped her arms around herself and sighed, defeat finally showing. The man wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer, and she breathed a sigh of relief as the warmth enveloped her.

The only person in the group who hadn't spoken was a tall, skinny man, his eyes focused on an unknown object. The first guy looked at him curiously but didn't question anything; he had learned long ago not to. He was so wise beyond his years, and that had certainly saved them many times . . .

Finally, the last man spoke. "The darkness is never really gone. It is still here, lurking, waiting for the right moment to pounce. What if—," but the second woman cut him off.

"As long as there is darkness, there will also be light," she told him, looking at him straight in the eye. "We need to have faith that the future will bring great things."

"And as long as we're together," the first woman started.

"We'll never be alone." The first man gave the woman a peck on the cheek before smiling at the other two. Despite their thoughts, they smiled back, and together the four people walked off into the horizon, not sure what was ahead of them but knowing that they'll be able to face it. After all, if they had survived in this place, then they could survive anything . . .

However, the first woman glanced back quickly, looking at something hidden in her pocket. She gave a sigh before looking up into the sky, where a small creature was flying above, singing a beautiful song.

"Goodbye," she whispered, "Goodbye, Digital World."


	2. Chapter 1

**So I think this a weak chapter, but bear with me, it'll get better! Hope you guys like it =]**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Digimon or anything in it, but Rena and the others are my OC =]**

Chapter 1

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Five more minutes, Mom . . ." a girl mumbled, pulling a ratty pillow over her head. When the alarm finally stopped, she groaned before pulling herself up, glaring at the clock. _As if this day wasn't going to be bad enough, _she thought, _I didn't even get to sleep in! _

A sudden knock on the door almost made the girl jump, but she soon realized that it was only her mom. "Rena Johnson, get downstairs this instant!"

Rena groaned, rolling her eyes. "I just got up, Mom, chill! I'll be right there!" She heard fading footsteps, and once they were completely gone, she decided that she should get up before her mom got even madder.

The tall girl yawned and stretched her back, revealing her slim figure under the baggy sweatshirt she was wearing. She hopped up and shuffled over to the mirror, examining her face like she always did, even though she didn't really care. She wasn't the type of girl who obsessed over her looks, especially when it came down to impressing boys. She knew that the right guy for her wouldn't want her to dress girly and act, in some cases, like a slut. She knew girls like that, and she did _not _want to be like them.

However, today was different, and she knew that she had to look decent, despite her objections. So as she examined her mirror image closer, she sighed in disappointment. Her shining blue eyes seemed unusually dull, and she definitely could make out dark half-moons under them. Her long, dark brown hair was currently in a very messy bun, and it looked like one, huge knot, unlike most of her classmates' hair. She was a freshman at a public high school, and most of her friends were so caught up in impressing the boys that they were never caught dead without straightened hair or a "perfect" face.

"But I don't have anything to straighten my hair with," she muttered before finally settling on a blue hair tie. She quickly brushed her brown locks before gathering it all and tying it up at the top of her head in a ponytail. She chose a white stretchy cloth headband and wrapped it around her head, nodding to herself in the mirror when she thought it looked right.

After that, she headed to the closet and searched through the many shirts that should've had dust on them by now and decided on a slimming ice blue t-shirt with a single white star on it. She also decided on a pair of dark jean capris and her white and blue sneakers.

Rena was about to head downstairs when she glanced outside; it was spring break and supposedly warm, but she had the tendency to get cold even in warm weather, so she picked out a white jacket and tied it around her waist.

"There, all ready," she said, suddenly cheery. Even though she wasn't looking forward to the day, she might as well accept it and try to live regularly.

She hurried down the stairs and made her way to the kitchen, where she could hear yelling and arguing, like usual. _Is my family ever _not _fighting? _But she ignored it and walked in anyway, and she was met by four pairs of eyes. Her mom and dad were currently standing in the corner of the room, discussing something loudly. Meanwhile, two other kids were yelling at each other, their faces turning red.

"Jessie, Peter, what are you two fighting about?" she asked calmly, trying to settle them down. The girl, Jessica, was ten years old, and the boy, Peter, was seven, and they had been yelling at who-knows-what! The two never got along, even when their mom yelled at them to stop, but it was no surprise. Ever since they were babies, they had been a quarrelsome duo. Rena had been like that a little, as well, but with someone else- her twin brother, Zach.

Zach Johnson was her best friend yet her biggest rival; they fought constantly, but they were both very close and protective of one another. He played soccer, and she was constantly worried that he would get a concussion or something during the game, and it was the same with him. Whenever she set foot in the gym during one of her basketball games, he pretended not to care, but secretly he watched in case he saw someone shove her or hurt her. Usually, her twin was playing with their younger siblings, but as glanced around she noticed that he wasn't there. That was unusual; after all, he was going to the same place that Rena had to go to today, so why would her parents let him out of their sight?  
"Hey Mom," she started, "where's Zach?"

Her mom barely looked in her direction as she replied, "Oh, he's outside, I think- enjoying the sun."

Ah, she should have known; Zach loved the sun. Whenever possible, he was always outside, soaking in the warm rays of sunlight. Rena had always made fun of him whenever she caught him lying in the grass or something, but she realized that it actually made him feel better, more complete even.

_He's so weird, _she thought affectionately.

However, she decided to find him anyway, and as she glanced out the window, she smiled slightly. There he was, lying in the grass as if he was asleep, spiky dark brown hair meshing with the grass. She could tell from here that he was wearing his usual red t-shirt and dark, loose jeans, and she had a feeling that in his hair was a pair of round, gray stylish goggles that he wore everywhere and on his hands were his gray, fingerless gloves.

"Hey, little bro!" she called as she ran outside, referring to the four extra minutes that she had been alive before he had come into the picture. "Enjoying the sun?" Zach shot up at the sound of her voice and smirked, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up," he told her, but he said it lovingly, if that was possible. He gave her a shove, and she pushed back, but they didn't say anything else. After all, what could they say? Their parents were making them leave on spring break for a stupid nature thing instead of letting them stay to hang out with their friends! Rena hadn't believed it at the time, and she still hasn't forgiven them. Although Zach was much more easygoing, she knew that he wasn't fine with this at all.

_We're going to have to go to some nature thing with, like, four other kids who are probably bird-watchers and tree-huggers. My mom signed us up to go; we aren't going to have fun at all! _She groaned at her own thoughts but reluctantly walked to the door with Zach. Inside, her parents glanced expectantly at them, with Peter and Jessica giggling behind them in safety.

Rena looked at everyone before giving them confused glances, cocking her head. Her dad was already getting his jacket on, keys in his pocket. Wait, that couldn't be right. They weren't supposed to leave until the evening!

"Where are you going, Dad?" Zach asked, as if reading her thoughts.

Sam Johnson looked at them both before looking at his wife nervously. She made a face, as if trying to encourage him. Encourage him? Encourage him for what?

"Your mother decided that you two should get an early start today, so she changed your flight to the 10:30 one, which means we have to leave now."

Rena's mouth dropped, and she didn't have any words to describe this moment. As she quickly glanced at Zach, she realized that he felt the same way, since he was just staring at them in shock. Finally, she tried to speak, anger seething out of every word.

"What…do….you….mean?! You already ruined our vacation by signing us up for this stupid thing, and now we don't even have a day to ourselves? I was planning on being with my friends today, incase you didn't remember!"

Then Zach spoke, agreeing with his sister. "Yeah, Mom, this is so unfair! Do you enjoy making our lives horrible or something? I was going to be with my friends, too, along with . . . Kristy."

Rena almost smacked her brother on the back of his head when he said that. Their mom hated that Zach was dating, and she wasn't a fan of the girl, either. She was everything that her mom could not stand about girls, which was pretty much everything that Rena didn't like, as well. That was one subject that she could agree about with her mom; Kristy was horrible. And bringing her into the conversation would just make it worse.

Their mom glared at them, her eyes slits. She shouted, "Oh, I am _so _sorry, Zach, for interrupting your love life, but you'll have to deal with it. You children have no morals, no respect, no –," but her husband interrupted.

"That is _enough, _Lela," he said sternly, and Rena's mom actually stopped talking. He gave one look at him before storming out of the kitchen, not even saying good-bye. Their dad gave a sympathetic look towards the kids and told him, "Why don't you guys get in the car. I'll be right there."

"Can we come, Daddy?" Jessie cried, hands on her hips.

"Yeah, please?" Peter added, looking at their dad with big eyes.

He laughed at the kids and nodded his head, and then he headed upstairs, where Rena guessed her mom was. Speaking of her mom . . .

_Why does it feel like she hates us? Now I'm kinda glad we're leaving . . . I'd go anywhere to be away from here. _

As they got in the car, Rena immediately ran to the passenger seat, while Zach was forced to the back. Peter and Jessie were arguing again, but Rena blocked their voices out and closed her eyes, trying to envision what this trip was going to be like. There were a few positives, she supposed. She got some time away from her parents so hopefully they could cool off, and she also could get away from her younger siblings. They were sweet, but they could get too annoying at times. And in addition to that, she would be away from Greg Harpowitz, that weird sophomore who kept following her everywhere. Maybe he would find some other, cute girl who was equally as stalker-ish. She didn't know; only time would tell.

Her thoughts were interrupted, though, when she was very suddenly, very rudely shaken awake. As she gathered her thoughts and blinked out the bleariness, she saw that they were already at the airport! Wow, had she really fallen asleep?

"You seriously sleep like a rock," Zach said from outside, already holding a duffel bag of clothes. "We were blasting the music, and the younger kids were arguing again, yet you barely even reacted to it!"

She laughed at herself in embarrassment before hopping out of the van, smoothing out her shirt and jeans. Her dad was currently in the trunk, pulling out Rena's bag. Once he did, he tossed it to her, and of course, she almost dropped it.

"Klutz," came her brother's voice from the other side of the car.

"Zach, you better shut your mouth!" she yelled in reply, and luckily he did.

Their dad, Jessie, and Peter all went with the twins to check in and find their gate, every once in a while looking at the clock. Rena knew that her dad was worried that they would miss their flight, and she was, too, even if she wouldn't admit it. She had picked up her dad's quality of punctuality, which could get very annoying, but it did come in handy. If Zach ever forgot about something or was going to be late without realizing it, she would always get him in check, and she had saved his butt so many times!

Finally they stopped at one of the farthest gates in the airport, which wasn't very crowded. There were a few families and older couples, but it was mostly just businessmen. One person did catch Rena's eye, though; it was a boy, probably around fourteen or fifteen like her, and he was currently wearing a gray hoodie and black shorts that went to his knees. His straight black hair was almost over his eyes, and it stopped halfway over his ears. Rena wished he would look up so she could see his eyes, and it seemed like he had heard her thoughts because he suddenly looked up, staring at her. His cool gray eyes seemed bored, as if he didn't care about anything. Zach gave her a shove to keep moving, rolling his eyes.

"Look at that guy," he muttered, talking about the same boy Rena had been looking at.

"What about him?" she asked innocently as if she didn't know what he was talking about.

Zach gave her a look as if she was crazy. "Are you serious? He looks like a juvie or something!"

Rena smiled at him and patted him on the back before turning to face her dad and little siblings. Jessie and Peter looked absolutely crestfallen, and as Rena gave each of them a hug, she felt drops of water fall onto her t-shirt. That left her dad, one of the people that she loved the most. He gave a small smile, as if he wasn't sure what to do, but Rena opened her arms widely and wrapped herself around him.

"Bye, Dad," she whispered.

"Goodbye, sweetie, I'll see you soon. The week will be over before you know it." As much as she wished to believe him, she couldn't; she knew that this would be one of the longest weeks ever.

"All passengers in rows 1-15 now boarding," came a muffled announcement. Rena glanced at her ticket and read 14C, so it was time to go. She grabbed Zach's arm in nervousness, since this was the first time they had flown alone, and he didn't pull away. Instead, he sent her a warm smile, for once not teasing her. With one last wave to their family, the brother and sister boarded the plane, not sure what this vacation would bring. Rena did have a feeling about it, though; this trip would change her life in one way or another, and she was a little worried about what that meant.


	3. Chapter 2

**Not much to say, except please R&R! **

**Disclaimer- As you all know, I don't own Digimon ^_^**

Chapter 2

During the whole plane ride, Rena was annoyed. Zach had the window seat, and Rena was stuck on the aisle, and smack dab in the middle of them was a fairly overweight man. She didn't like describing people like that, but her patience was running out, especially since his snoring and body fat were ruining her flight. She was trying to stay as close to the aisle as possible, but it was hard. In the beginning she had asked Zach if he wanted to switch, but he had merely smiled at her and closed his eyes to take a nap.

_I am going to get him back somehow, _she thought to herself grumpily.

While trying to survive the flight, Rena had also been observing the other people flying, looking for someone special as well. Truthfully, she was curious about that boy she had first seen, even though she had no idea why. After all, she would probably never see him again.

"Hey, what did you do with my hat?"

"I didn't do anything with it, loser!"

Rena swiftly glanced in front of her where she saw two boys arguing, one in a row in front of the other. The boy in front seemed to be her age; she could tell by the sound of his voice and the look of his face when he glanced back at the other boy. His blonde-brown hair was cut close his head, but she could tell that it was growing out, and she smiled at the sight of his amber eyes, nervous and timid. She almost called to him in sympathy, but her gaze hardened at the sight of the other boy. He was laughing, and he sounded as if he thought that he was the greatest. His hand swept through his wavy golden blonde hair and his boastful blue eyes quickly looked around to make sure no one was really watching, or at least paying attention. Then, he took the other boy's hat and tossed it down the aisle, letting it slide past the many rows.

"Hey!" the brunette boy exclaimed, instantly hopping up. A flight attendant glared at him, though, so reluctantly the boy had to sit down. The blonde smiled at what had just happened and then closed his eyes in peace.

_That stupid, arrogant, horrible loser! How could he do something so mean? _Rena then noticed that the hat had stopped right beside her, so she picked it up and began to examine it. It was tan with a very flexible rim around it, as if there wasn't even really a rim. She didn't see anything too special about it, but she figured that the boy must have liked it for a reason.

_I'll get it back to him before the flight is over, _she told herself. Her eyelids grew heavy, though, and she felt as if it would be impossible to keep them open. So she shut them, just telling herself that she would rest for a while . . .

"Hey, Rena, wake up!"

Rena's eyes shot open, and she realized that people were already beginning to get off of the plane. At first, she was confused as her bleary eyes tried to focus on too many things at once, but then she remembered; she still had the boy's hat! She jumped up, searching for the boy, but he seemed to be already gone, with no sight of him at all. She plopped back down in disappointment, her brother looking at her as if she was crazy.

"What are you doing?" he questioned curiously.

Rena looked at him dejectedly. "Nothing, not anymore." He continued to stare at her in confusion, but finally he gave up and gave her a shove to stand up so they could leave. The man in the middle of them was still sleeping, and neither of them wanted to be the one to wake him up.

Together, Rena and Zach made their way to the airport exit where they were looking for a black car of some sort. They didn't see anything, though, which made the twin sister groan.

"Great! How are we supposed to leave if there isn't anyone to take us?"

Zach sighed, glancing at his phone for the time. "Well," he started, "maybe they didn't know that we were coming on an earlier flight." He was about to sit down and rest, but a car horn suddenly honked loudly. Rena's eyes darted everywhere, searching for what had happened, when finally they landed on a small black town car with the words "Wellsburg Forest Expedition: Where the Real Adventure Awaits" written on it. Yes, that was their car . . . unfortunately.

They hurried over, where a tall, skinny man was waiting for them. He grabbed their bags and threw them into the trunk before turning to the driver's seat, not once looking in their direction. Rena and Zach shared their own look, though, before stepping into the car, slightly nervous. She immediately gasped, though, at the emptiness of it.

"Aren't there others going to this thing, too?" she asked the driver.

"Yeah, we can't be the only ones!" Zach agreed.

The driver merely peered at them in the mirror before focusing on the road again. "The others have already left in another vehicle. You two are late."

Rena opened her mouth to say something else, but Zach quickly silenced her with a look. If she began to yell and run her mouth off, who knew what trouble they would get in! He did love trouble and adventure, but not when his sister was involved. She was smart and never got in trouble, even when she fought with the other girls in their class, and he didn't want her to start acting like him now. Besides, he worried enough as it is just watching her play sports!

The rest of the car ride was in silence, with Rena every once in a while looking at Zach for support. The farther they drove, the farther they got from their family, which was both good and bad. Farther from her mom . . . but also farther from her dad.

When they drove up to a large building in front of a huge forest, the brunette girl sighed in relief. She was afraid that they would never make it! However, she wasn't looking forward to it. _Tree-huggers, here we come. _

The driver led them inside the doors of the building where a tall, pretty woman was standing. Her blonde hair was currently in a tight bun, her blue suit fitted nicely over a relaxed t-shirt and sneakers. Previously, her eyes revealed boredom, but as soon as the twins stepped in, her face brightened considerably. She gracefully walked over in her high heels, smiling gratefully at their driver.

"Thank you, William, for safely bringing the final people here to the Wellsburg Forest Expedition. I was starting to get worried!" She laughed, her voice like bells. Rena rolled her eyes before glancing at Zach, who was staring in awe. Rolling her eyes again, she quickly jabbed him in the side to interrupt his daydreams.

Their driver, William, replied to the woman as if he hadn't noticed the interaction between the twins. "Just doing my duty, Madam, although I have to report that the final child never came. It seems . . . no one has any idea where she is."

The woman had an odd look on her face at the thought of what William had said, but she quickly dismissed it before Rena could figure anything out. Instead, she laughed again. "Oh, William, always the bearer of bad news. And I've told you a million times; call me Samantha."

Once William left, Samantha smiled for some unknown reason, and Rena looked at herself subconsciously, even though she didn't usually do that. There was something about Samantha that intrigued her, and she knew that the woman was hiding something. Zach didn't seem to notice, though; he was still looking at the woman as if she was a goddess.

Rena's thoughts were interrupted as Samantha spoke up again. "Well, I'm glad you two have finally arrived. The other three are waiting outside near the forest exit, so why don't you join them? I'm sure they'll be excited to meet you. Goodbye, Rena and Zach Johnson!" And then she walked off, leaving the twins alone.

_Goodbye? Why was saying goodbye to us, as if she wouldn't see us for a while? I'm sure she's hiding something, but what? _

However, Rena ignored her own ideas and decided to go outside to meet the other kids…lucky….enough to be signed up for this. Zach began to whistle, as if he was the most carefree person in the world.

"I have no idea who you are sometimes," she told him warmly, rubbing a smudge off his goggles.

"I know! It's so much fun to annoy you," he replied, laughing.

He began to run to the doors, and Rena sighed as she chased after him. They were fourteen, but they were acting as if they were four. Oh well, at least this took her mind off of the other things happening.

She giggled as they both burst through the door, but immediately she stopped in her tracks. Staring at them were three boys, and Rena had seen all of them before: the boy in the airport, the boy who lost his hat, and the boy who had taken it . . . She couldn't believe that they were the other people in the group!

"Well, aren't you two sweet," the blonde boy smirked, "what are you, lovebirds?"

Rena glared at the boy in disgust. "Are you kidding me? This is my brother! You must have a sick mind or something!"

He held his hands up in mock fright before pretending to act scared. "Oh, excuse me, sorry for the mistake. I didn't know you would be so scary!"

"Hey, shut up, that's my sister you're talking to," Zach demanded, stepping in front of Rena.

"Wow, I'm so scared," the blonde boy replied, smirking.

"Um, guys, maybe we should stop fighting . . ."

Rena looked over at who had spoken before smiling softly. It was the boy who had lost his hat, and lucky for him, Rena was about to make his day! She reached into her pocket and pulled out the boy's tan hat, who gasped in surprise.

"My hat!" he exclaimed. "Thank you, how did you get it? I thought I lost it on the plane . . ." As the boy ran over, Rena quickly looked him over. He was currently wearing a solid forest green t-shirt with a white long-sleeve shirt underneath, and on his legs were tan, cargo shorts. He placed his hat on, and it completed his look in a weird but good way. "My name is Riley McDermott . . ."

Rena gave Riley a warm look before replying, "I'm Rena Johnson, and this is my twin brother, Zach." She glanced over at her brother, who waved in a relaxed fashion.

This left the blonde boy and the other one with black hair, the one she had seen in the airport. Deliberately ignoring the blonde, Rena walked over to the other boy and smiled at him, asking him who he was.

At first, he only looked at her curiously, but then he sighed and spoke. "I'm Miles Fox."

Rena began to talk to Miles, even though he only stared at her, but she didn't seem to notice. The blonde boy interrupted them, though, walking over to Rena, who didn't even flinch. He might have thought that he could scare her, but he was wrong.

"What do you want?" she asked simply, glaring at him.

"I feel so offended!" the boy exclaimed. "You never asked _my _name."

She continued to look at him without even changing her expression. "Fine, what's your name?" she asked, even though she didn't sound the least bit interested.

He smiled. "My name is Logan Wilde, son of the rich Mr. Wilson Wilde!"

Rena sighed and examined Logan Wilde, even though she wanted to kill him. How was she supposed to survive this week if she had to deal with it? Currently, he wore an orange t-shirt, but it was hidden by a blue zip-up jacket, and he had dark blue pants with orange stripes running down the sides. Rena hated to admit it, but he was very good-looking.

After that, there was an awkward silence, and Rena found herself staring at Logan. Instead, she looked away, glancing at the other three guys. Miles was staring at the ground, Zach was glaring at Logan, and Riley was anxiously glancing around the forest as if he expected something to pop out and scare them.

"So," she finally started, "why are all of you here?"

"My parents thought that this would be a good experience for me," Riley muttered.

"My grandmother saw the ad and sent me since she's sick," Miles said quietly, not looking up. "I should've stayed, though, so I could look after her!"

Logan laughed. "You guys sound so pathetic!"

Rena glared at him, yelling, "Oh yeah? Why are you here, Logan Wilde?"

Before he could reply, though, the ground began to shake, and Rena shrieked in surprise. She fell to her knees, grabbing Zach's leg. He got pulled down by her, and he tried to comfort her, but she was too scared. Ever since that one day so many years ago, she had been terrified of earthquakes . . .

"Hey, I think it's over!" Riley exclaimed.

Miles glanced up from where he was crouching before sighing. "That was weird."

"Yeah," Zach agreed. "It was so quick and then stopped, just like that. Hey, Rena, it's fine. It's over." Rena nervously opened her eyes and relaxed. It really was over; there was nothing to worry about.

She was about to stand up when Logan looked at her and smirked. "Wow, Miss Tough Girl is actually _scared_? This is amazing; this is totally a Kodak moment."

This time Zach had had enough. He hopped up and ran over to where Logan was standing. He looked like he was about the punch the blonde boy, and Rena secretly wanted him to.

Suddenly, though, the ground began to shake again, and it did not stop. Rena yelled, grabbing desperately to Riley since Zach had walked off. As the forest shook, Rena noticed something. A giant crack was forming in the ground, and the five of them were right on top of it. It started to widen and widen when finally, a giant hole stood in its place. Rena tried to escape, but it was too late, and soon all five kids had fallen in, yelling and crying out for help. No one was listening, though, and Rena closed her eyes in defeat. They were falling to their deaths, about to die . . .

Right before she passed out, though, she thought she saw water, but it didn't make any sense, so she ignored it and just thought of it as an illusion . . .


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry that it's been so long! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you like this chapter. =]**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon (if I did, Kari and TK would've ended up together!)**

Chapter 3

Rena's blue eyes fluttered open, her head pounding. She thought she heard the ocean, but that couldn't be right. She was just in a forest, far away from any water. The last thing she remembered . . . the earthquake, the giant crack, the five of them falling to their deaths. Yet, here she was, alive. Or at least, she thought she was alive. She felt alive.

Slowly, she sat up, looking around her. She was sitting on a sandy beach, and beside her was a beautiful, sparkling ocean, the waves peacefully washing up onto the sand. She sighed in relaxation before gasping. This wasn't possible! And then she glanced down, smiling in relief, despite the situation. The four boys were lying in the sand as well, and she guessed that they hadn't awoken yet.

"Zach," she said to herself, crawling over to her brother. He had a scratch on his cheek, but besides that, he seemed okay. Rena gave a small smile before fixing his goggles and pulling his gloves up slightly. Then he moved, and Rena all but fainted.

"Oh, Zach, you're okay!" she exclaimed.

He blinked his eyes in confusion when he saw Rena over him. "R-Rena, is that you? What happened? My . . . head hurts."

His sister didn't reply; instead, she pulled him up and quickly caught him in a hug before he could get away. Zach rolled his eyes but embraced her, still confused about everything that had happened. His eyes drifted toward the ocean, and he looked at it with a confused expression on his face. Rena didn't notice, though; she was too busy hugging him and acting like she was in shock.

Eventually, the other three guys awoke as well, and all three had been silent, even Logan. The blonde stared at the landscape in shock, as if he didn't fully understand what had happened.

"Where are we?" Logan finally spit out.

No one answered at first, but finally Zach stood up, straightening his goggles. "I don't know," he started, "but somehow we need to find out. And I have a feeling we're not in Wellsburg."

Riley's eyes widened suddenly. "Look at those lights! They're coming right towards us!" he exclaimed, and Rena turned to see that he was right.

Five bright beams of light were shooting from the sky, each one a different color- red, orange, green, blue, and purple. Rena knew that they should probably run, since they had no idea what was happening, but something about the lights made her stay. They seemed to be . . . drawing her in. She brushed the sand off her jeans before standing up next to her brother. Miles, Riley, and Logan did the same, their faces showing awe.

Then the lights all separated, and Rena realized that each one was heading towards the five of them! The majestic purple light was aimed right at her, and if she didn't move . . .

"Whoa," she murmured as the light hit her hands, and she gasped at the sudden power she felt. It seemed to surge through her, until finally, it dimmed, and an object was left in her hands. The brunette girl cocked her head as she examined it, trying to figure out what it was. It seemed to be some sort of device that looked slightly like a walkie-talkie; there was a blank screen on it, and underneath were a few buttons, and the outside edges were purple instead of the otherwise white object. As she glanced around, she realized that the others had devices of their own, although each one was a different than hers.

Riley was staring at his green device in shock, while Logan was trying not to look like he cared when he clearly did. His pale orange device was clasped tightly in his hand, and it didn't look like he was going to give it up. Meanwhile, Miles was staring at his dark blue one as if there was some unseen force behind it all, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. However, Rena's brother seemed the opposite. Zach Johnson was looking at his red device with such determination that it slightly scared Rena. What was he thinking?

"What the heck _are _these things?" Logan called out, looking over his device again.

Rena had to agree with him; things just kept getting weirder and weirder.

"Whatever they are," Miles finally said, speaking up, "I have a bad feeling about them." As he clutched his own device, his eyes seemed to glaze over, as if he was thinking about something else.

Zach looked up as if he was going to say something, but a loud crash made him stop. It seemed to be coming from the forest that was at the edge of the beach, and Rena wasn't very anxious to see what was happening.

Suddenly, a tiny figure came crashing out of the bushes, plopping onto the sand. Rena gasped at the sight of it; what was it? The creature was small and a pale cream color and its ears were long and droopy, slightly resembling that of a puppy. She also noticed that there was a thin, golden ring around its neck, standing out despite the many cuts that Rena noticed as well.

"Oh my gosh, it's so cute!" she squealed, despite the situation. Zach was staring at her as if she had two heads, so she quickly composed herself and coughed.

"You're actually acting like a girl," Logan snorted, crossing his arms, but Rena groaned. She didn't have time to for this! That little creature needed their help, whether they liked it or not.

Riley seemed to understand what she was thinking, as well, because he began to walk up to the animal (if you could call it an animal) and called to it. At first, the creature glanced up warily, as if it wasn't sure what she should do, but suddenly her eyes lit up and managed to limp to the boy. As he lifted it up, it quickly looked over the five kids before glancing back at the forest.

"We have to go, now!" it exclaimed, its voice high and young, like a little girl. Rena's mouth hung open, as if she couldn't believe what had just happened. The thing had just _talked! _

As she (or at least Rena thought it was a she) tried to jump out of Riley's arms, Rena's purple device suddenly started to glow, which made the creature smile. But they didn't have time for that because just as they started to glow, a different creature burst out of the trees, this time not at all cute.

Rena gulped as she found herself staring at a giant flying insect that looked a little like a praying mantis with two sharp blades as hands and fast, fluttering wings. She saw the tiny creature in Riley's hands bury herself in his arms, terrified of the creature. In fact, Riley didn't look much better; the hat-headed boy clung to the creature, staring at the insect even though he wanted to look away.

"What are we supposed to do?" Miles spoke up. "That thing doesn't look too friendly, and I don't want to know what it can do."

"Yeah, well, we're about to find out!" Rena exclaimed, noticing the creature as it raised its two blades. "We really need to hide!"

"Well, well, well," the insect cackled, "now I don't just get to destroy one pathetic Digimon, but five humans as well! Twin Sickles!" Rena hardly had time to move as the insect aimed its blades at the kids and shot two pink crescent beams at them. She felt Zach tackle her as she fell to the ground, but they weren't safe yet. The creature that had formerly been in Riley's arms leapt out and dashed towards the woods, calling out for them to follow. They didn't really have a choice, since it was either following her or getting attacked by the insect, so they quickly hurried into the forest.

As Rena ran through the trees, she thought back to what the giant insect had said. It was something about Digimon . . . but what are Digimon? Her head swirled as she tried to understand what was happening, but all she really wanted was to go home. What had she gotten herself into?

"Hurry, come over here!" the cream-colored creature called out from behind a tree. Rena glanced at Zach, who shrugged, so she and others quickly followed her and crouched behind the tree in utter silence. Her hand slowly drifted down into a more relaxed position, and for a split second it touched Miles's. She blushed furiously, even though she had no idea why, and quickly drew her hand back. The boy with the black hair looked at her curiously but never said a word.

It seemed like days that they were stuck behind the tree when finally the tiny creature let out a sigh of relief. She plopped onto the ground, closing her eyes, and for the first time Rena realized how tired she must have been. If she had been running from the insect for a while, and Rena guessed that she had, she must have been exhausted! Riley glanced at her as if he heard her thoughts and then picked up the talking animal and placed her on his lap. She looked up at him with her big blue eyes gratefully before smiling.

"It was a good thing you Digidestined were there, or else I'd have been toast! Seraphimon told me I might see some evil Digimon, but I didn't really believe him. After all, this part of the Digi-World wasn't supposed to be infected, but I guess they were wrong. Oh well! At least I got to meet you-," but the creature was silenced by Zach.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, sounding as confused as Rena felt.

"Yeah, I got to agree with Goggles, here," Logan added, his voice shaking slightly. "What the heck was that thing? And who are you? And, more importantly, where in the world are we?"

The creature glanced at them all, her eyes squinting a little as she looked them over. "Are you honestly saying that you I have no idea what I'm talking about? But that can't be right; you five are the Digidestined."

Rena groaned as her angst and confusion continued to build up. Finally, she had to let it all out. "Will you quit saying that?" she shouted, making the little creature shrink away towards Riley. "We're not Digidestined, or whatever you're calling us! Can't you actually explain something, or are you going to continue saying things that make absolutely no sense?!"

The four guys stared at Rena in shock, and she realized that most of them hadn't seen her like this before. Zach had, of course, but the other three must have thought she was crazy!

_Oh great, I'm stuck in some weird place, and now everyone thinks I've lost it! _Rena thought miserably. _Oh well, I shouldn't even care. What has gotten into me recently? I've never cared what guys thought before; why am I starting now? _

Although the little animal cocked her head, she shrugged and quickly glanced at the ocean before looking back at them. As she circled around in Riley's lap before finally settling down, Rena noticed that Zach never took his eyes off the creature. He looked like he was thinking, but Rena couldn't figure out what it was about, which was weird. Since they were twins, they usually understood each other's feelings and could tell what they were feeling, but now . . . Her brother just seemed very distant.

"Okay, well, I don't know why you don't know about all this by now, but-,"

"'By now?'" Logan interrupted. "We just got here, wherever _here _is."

"Logan," Zach said quietly, yet it made the blonde boy silent.

The creature sighed. "As I was saying, I don't know why there wasn't anybody here to explain everything to you, but I guess I'm as good a Digimon as any! My name is Salamon, a rookie Digimon. I work for Seraphimon and Cherubimon, but they're not a part of this story. I'm guessing you don't know what Digimon are, do you? (At this they all shook their heads.) Well, Digimon is short for Digital Monsters, and we are the inhabitants of the Digital World, which is a little like your human world. We are made of data, yet don't think that we aren't real. No, we're as real as you guys, just in a different way. So anyway, there have been other humans who have come to the Digital World before, and they are called the Digidestined. This is because they are called here to help us when our world is in danger or about to be destroyed."

As Salamon took a breath, Rena tried to figure everything out, but it was hard. How was she supposed to believe that she was in a completely different world, and a digital one at that? She tried to believe that she was dreaming, but it was useless. Her fear had been real. Those attacks had been real. The sharp pain in her side had been real! And now she was going through a real, painful headache.

"I'm so confused," she murmured, subconsciously gripping her purple device. Salamon seemed to notice, though.

"You guys got the Digivices!" she exclaimed, eyes brightening again. "Well that's a relief; at least you aren't completely helpless. Those Digivices are the key to you saving my world."

"But I don't understand," Miles muttered. "Save the Digital World from what? And how are we supposed to save it if we're human? We don't have attacks that blow things up or anything." Rena had to hide a smile before Miles saw her; he was so serious, and his sense of humor was so dry that she had a feeling he didn't even mean to be funny.

Salamon shook her head. "You humans can be so slow," she said to herself, making Rena smile again. "You guys won't be alone; each of you has a special partner Digimon who will stand by your side and fight with you. And as for what you have to save the Digital World from . . . well, you'll figure that out soon enough."

Logan snorted again. "Right, so we're supposed to believe that we're a bunch of Digidestined or whatever who have to save some world with a bunch of talking animals. So tell me, Salamon, where are these partner Digimon you speak of?"

At first, Salamon only glared at the blonde boy, but Riley tugged the little Digimon's ear affectionately to make her calm down. She snuggled him again, making the boy blush slightly.

"You want to know where they are? Fine, I'll tell you, even though you don't deserve it," the little rookie said indignantly. "They're all up there, on Diamond Mountain."

And as Rena looked up, she saw the biggest mountain that she had ever seen.


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone! Okay, first of all, I know that I made many of these "landmarks," and they're not the official places of the Digital World. I just wanted to be more knowledgeable about the place, and I have a knack of forgetting things, so if I tried to use the real places I would probably mess it up greatly ^_^**

**So anyway, please read and review (especially review)! If no one leaves me any comments, then I don't know how to improve. I have really big chocolate chip cookies if do! Well…invisible chocolate chip cookies. =]**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon (although I do own Rena and the other original characters in here)**

**Now, as I've been babbling here for ages, onto the show, er… I mean story!**

Chapter 4

"You really expect us to _climb _that?" Logan Wilde's voice rang out.

"It's so big," Riley whispered, and Rena had to strain herself to hear him. "What happens if there are evil Digimon up there, like the insect one that we saw earlier?"

Salamon continued to gaze at the mountain, not really paying attention. "Snimon is the least of your worries," she said quietly. "That champion Digimon doesn't have a brain any bigger than your hand." But then she smiled cheerfully. "Don't worry; I have faith in you guys. Besides, I'll journey with you the whole way there until each and every one of you gets a partner!"

"Great, I feel so much better. You couldn't hurt a fly," Logan said, sighing.

Salamon suddenly jumped up, puffing out her chest. And as she did that, Riley fell backward, his Digivice falling out of his hands onto the cold dirt. The hat-headed boy gasped and lunged for the device and then immediately began checking to see if it was broken. Rena rolled her eyes at the act; those two could be a comedy act if they wanted to.

"Well I'm a lot stronger than you, so maybe you should stop being mean to me!" The little Digimon's face fell at the obvious lack of respect, and Rena smiled in sympathy before reaching over to pet her. Her eyes closed in delight, making the female Digidestined smile again. If the rest of the Digidestined were cute like Salamon, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"I wish you were my partner," she murmured, but she was surprised when Salamon jumped away from her, her eyes showing fear.

"No, you can't say that!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I'm not meant to be a partner! You could ruin everything if you really meant that. I- no, you need to find your own partner."

The little rookie began to shake slightly, which made Rena's heart fall. She had meant what she said as a compliment, but Salamon had acted as if she had just insulted her or something! The others were staring in bewilderment as well, but they had other things on their mind to really pay attention.

Zach suddenly stood up, rubbing his spiky brown hair in anxiousness. What was he thinking about? It killed Rena to feel so apart from him, but it seemed like there was nothing she could do.

"Well, let's go," he said, eyes transfixed on Diamond Mountain. "If we want to find our Digimon before nightfall, we should probably leave now."

Logan shrugged while Riley nodded silently, picking up Salamon. Rena, although slightly nervous of climbing up that huge mountain where Digimon might be, sighed and nodded in agreement. However, Miles never said a word. Zach didn't seem to notice, but when he began to walk, the black-haired boy stood up, coughing.

"Who died and made you leader?" he called, hands in his pockets.

"What?" Zach questioned, and Rena had to agree with him. What made Miles change his attitude so quickly?

"You heard me. You're willing to just throw away everything and take us to some unknown place that's probably really dangerous! How are you not freaked out about all this?" Miles yelled, not even trying to contain his anger.

"You don't think I'm freaked out about this? I'm probably more freaked out than you are! The different is: I know when to be calm and take action, unlike you!"

"All I'm saying that it would be pretty useless if we climbed up that whole mountain only to have someone die!"

This silenced Zach, and for once Rena's twin brother showed uncertainty in his confident green eyes. Salamon sighed and tried to call everyone's attention. At first they didn't seem to hear her, but then she yelled again, and it was weird to hear her young and cute voice in such a loud way.

"Sorry, Miles Fox, but I'm afraid Zach is right. There are evil Digimon lurking, and if we don't get your Digimon soon, someone else will." Salamon gave the other boy a sad look before turning to look up into Riley's eyes. "You're very cozy, did you know that?"

Riley seemed to murmur something, but Rena couldn't make out what he said so she ignored it, falling in behind Zach as he led them forward. For a while they just walked in silence, and the female Digidestined had a feeling it was because they were all trying to make sense of what was happening. How had everything changed so quickly? Only that morning had she been in the middle of her fighting family, yet she would do anything to be with them now instead of being a part of some big battle! Was someone going to get hurt? If any Digimon put a single finger, or wing, or whatever, on Zach, she would make them pay.

Suddenly coming out of her thoughts, she realized that her hands were now fists, and she was gripping them furiously. As she looked around, she noticed that Salamon was staring at her, but she didn't know why. Did it have to do with what she had said earlier? Salamon had seemed so sad and scared when she heard Rena's compliment, but there was no logical reason why she would feel like that!

"Hey Salamon," she heard, and Rena saw that it was Riley.

"Yes, Digidestined?" the Digimon asked in reply.

"Do you think you can tell me what you meant by 'rookie' and 'champion'?"

Salamon looked at the boy thoughtfully before nodding, and Rena slowed down as well to listen. She was curious about everything that the little Digimon had said, and any small amount of information would be helpful.

"Yes, of course," Salamon said calmly, sounding so wise despite her size. "I'm sorry I never told you before! You see, all Digimon have different levels, but they all start out as Digi-eggs, and when they hatch, they are called fresh, or babies. Once they get a little older and more powerful, they digivolve into their in-training forms, and after they get even more powerful, they turn into their rookie forms, which is actually the most common form, and what I am. And probably, that is the form most of your Digimon will take most of the time.

"However," she continued, "rookies aren't very powerful compared to some of the Digimon you will face, so they Digivolve into champions to save you, but they don't usually stay in that form very long since they need a lot of energy. After that is the form of an ultimate Digimon, which is extremely powerful. Your Digimon should be able to do it as well, but it takes something special, and it might not happen for a while, so I don't know if you should really think about that for a while, even though many of your enemies are ultimates. And then there is the biggest and most powerful form- mega . . ."

At this Salamon stopped, and Rena was caught off-guard. Her voice sounded so sad at the thought of mega Digimon, but she didn't know why. Riley must have noticed it, too, because he poked the cream Digimon gently in her side. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and cuddled closer to Riley, and Rena guessed that that was the end of the conversation.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed as she suddenly crashed into Miles, who seemed to have stopped. Behind her, Riley stopped short of hitting her as well, luckily, but that didn't explain what had happened. The black-haired boy stared at her before continuing to look forward again, his arms crossed. Ahead of them, Rena saw her brother standing still, craning his neck to look up. She glanced up as well, shielding her eyes from the sun. Unlike Zach, she was never a big fan of the sun; she always preferred the night, where the moon shone brightly yet it was cool and peaceful.

_I wonder if my Digimon will have those same thoughts, or if she will be the exact opposite. What if we have nothing in common? What if…she doesn't like me? _

As if hearing her thoughts, Miles glanced back at her again and gave her a sympathetic look, his eyes for once not shielding any emotions or feelings. In surprise, Rena cocked her head slightly, but soon he was looking away from her again, making her feel even more confused.

"Hey, Salamon," Zach then called out, "how are we supposed to get up there and find our Digimon without getting discovered?"

Just as he said that, Rena spotted a purple creature resembling a grizzly bear as it walked around the mountain, keeping guard. The five kids and rookie Digimon quickly ducked behind a bush before the bear spotted them, and when time passed without them being discovered, they all breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Which proves my point," her brother added, sighing. Rena saw how determined he looked, and the thought of not climbing the mountain seemed to have disappointed him greatly. She approached him and tried to comfort him somehow, but he quickly dismissed her with a wave of his hand. Rena stared at him, eyes wide, not believing what she was seeing.

_What's wrong with him? Why is he acting so weird? We all have the same problem, but he seems so much more stressed about it. _

However, Salamon wasn't fazed. "All you need to know is how to hide," she told them, giggling slightly. "And you just have to follow me, but I think you know that." And as she hopped away towards Diamond Mountain, she left the five Digidestined looking very confused.

***

And hide they did. Salamon led them up a winding path, and whenever there was the slightest hint of an approaching Digimon, she quickly herded them behind a rock or a shrub and waited until it was safe. They sure weren't going very fast, but they were going, and Rena guessed that was what mattered.

Eventually, the little rookie stopped, and Rena gasped when she realized why. In front of them was a giant hole that led the group into the mountain, and it looked even more ominous than the actual mountain. Inside of there somewhere were their Digimon partners, though, and she was not leaving without them, no matter what. After all, they had gotten this far; why stop now?

"Well, let's go," Zach said simply, adjusting his goggles, which made Rena laugh, despite their situation. Her brother always wore those silly things on his head, yet she never once saw him actually use them. Some sort of trend, she supposed.

"Hey, Goggle-boy, slow down there. Do you really expect us all to go in there without even thinking it over? We're not that stupid! Well, I'm not." Logan continued to sit on the rocky ground, not even trying to get up.

Rena gripped her Digivice in anger, furious at the blonde, even though she was secretly thinking the same thing. Her brother was willing to go stomping into some Digimon-infested mountain without even consulting them! And even though Riley and Miles never spoke, she had a feeling they were thinking the same thing- Miles, especially.

Zach glared at Logan, every few seconds checking behind him to make sure no Digimon were coming. Then he asked, "What is your problem, Wilde? Don't you _want _to find your partner? I think we've all realized that this isn't a dream, so quit acting like this isn't happening!" At this, Logan stopped talking, and his eyes stared off in another direction as if he was thinking about something.

That seemed to silence the rest of the group, so without anyone else arguing, Zach began to lead them through the dark tunnels, with Salamon right behind him incase he needed help. Rena was surprised, though, that he barely turned around at all, as if he actually knew where he was going. It didn't make any sense, but Rena had a feeling that her twin somehow knew where to go.

_If he talked to me, maybe I could find out how. _Instead of confronting him, however, she merely stayed in the back with Riley, nervously walking forward.

Suddenly, a light shone down, and the group had to dive behind a rock so they wouldn't be seen. Rena peered around the rock timidly, and she was surprised to find what seemed like a human walking through the tunnel, a dark cloak and hood hiding her features. She knew it was a girl, though, because a strand of blonde hair poking through the hood. As the girl hurried past them, she didn't seem to be paying any attention, so Rena led out a small sigh.

Bad decision.

The girl suddenly stopped at the sound, and Rena felt a hand clasp over her mouth. She didn't dare move to figure out who it was; if they were caught, it would be all her fault . . .

"Stupid imagination," the girl murmured, and then she quickly ran out of the mountain. This time Rena sighed after checking to make sure no one was around, and the hand immediately left her mouth. She twisted her neck to see who it was, and smiled at the sight of Miles, who was rolling his eyes.

"Hey, Rena," Zach whispered, although he was not even looking at her.

Rena gulped. "Yeah?"

"Next time you want to put yourself in danger, don't involve us." And then he was up and off, turning to go down another dark tunnel, leaving Rena with her mouth open. Had he really just said that? Zach, her protective twin brother who always watched out for her, had just told her off without even acting like he cared? What was this Digital World doing to him?

Salamon suddenly squeaked, interrupting this little drama. The five kids all ran to her to see what was wrong, but at first they didn't understand. The only thing in front of them was a giant wall, with a few symbols carved into the stone. They had no idea what it was about, though; it was just a wall, right?

"Salamon," Riley said quietly, "what's wrong? Why is this wall here?"

The cream Digimon closed her eyes in delight before replying. "Behind here are your Digimon partners, young Digidestined. I have done my job, so now I must go."

They all turned to her in reply, clearly confused by what she had said. "What do you mean?" Logan wondered. "You're just going to ditch us, before we even get our Digimon? What if something happens?"

Salamon immediately went from smiling to almost crying. Riley scooped her up so she wouldn't collapse, and soon tears were running from her eyes. Rena couldn't believe the sudden change in her emotions! And she also couldn't believe what the Digimon was saying. Was she really going to leave, just like that?"

"I'm…sorry," came her muffled reply. "I…I just have to go. Please forgive me!"

At this she jumped out of Riley's arms, running down the tunnel, wet spots appearing on the ground from her tears. Rena was surprised to find that tears were running down her face as well, and she quickly wiped them away before the others saw. She had just met Salamon, but she felt as if they had formed some sort of lasting bond. Cheesy, yes, but it was true.

"I will see you all again, young Digidestined!"

And then she was gone, and the five kids were left in front of a giant wall with no ideas on how to open it and get their Digimon. They were absolutely . . . helpless.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi everyone! I am SO sorry about this. I haven't updated in forever, and even worse, this is my shortest chapter =/ On my computer, I had this whole chapter written out, but a bug came or something and completely erased it, so I tried to redo it even though it isn't as good as the original. Well, I hope you enjoy it anyway, please R&R :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, yadda yadda yadda…. **

Chapter 5

_ Why did Salamon do that? We're just as lost as when we first got here. It's not like we know what to do! _Rena Johnson sighed and rubbed her temples before beginning to examine the wall closely. She pressed her hand against it, her fingers tracing the symbols that had been carved into the cold stone. They were all curvy and in weird forms, but she found that they were real shapes. She was especially fascinated by a symbol that looked a little like a heart; it was so…beautiful.

"Don't you agree, Rena?"

Rena blinked out of her trance, glancing up to see Zach staring at her, as if he was expecting an answer. Logan smirked at the brunette girl, but she never turned in his direction as she spoke.

"Uh . . . what was that, Zach?"

Before Zach could speak up, though, Logan did. "Goggle-boy here said that we need to figure out a plan on how to open the wall, which of course _nobody _ever considered."

Ignoring the blonde's comments, Rena glanced at Zach with surprise, but then she frowned again. "_Now _you're talking to me like an equal?" she spat, arms crossed. "What, am I not good enough to be your twin anymore now that you're some sort of Digimon professional?"

She had obviously caught her brother off guard, and he tried to stutter an answer, but Rena wouldn't listen. Instead, she pulled out her Digivice and held it in her hand right in front of Zach's face.

"You see this?" she almost shouted before remembering where she was. "It's a Digivice, _just_ like yours. That means that you're not better than me; we're both Digidestined, both equals, both—," but her voice stopped, and she collapsed on the ground in confusion, head in her hands. Nervously, Riley approached her and slid down against the wall next to her.

"Hey, Rena, it's okay," he said quietly, trying to console her. "You're just tired; we all are. After all, we've been taken to some world that we didn't even know existed." Rena looked at him in surprise before immediately burying her face in his shirt so the others wouldn't see the sudden flow of tears.

Logan sighed, resigning himself to sitting on the floor with the others. "Well, we're a loving bunch," he said with a yawn.

As they all sat in silence, Rena began to think of her Digimon. She was just behind that wall, waiting for her to come, yet here she was crying like a baby! So what if Zach was being a jerk to her. Apparently these Digimon were real, which meant that they had feelings and emotions, and she didn't want her Digimon to feel hurt and abandoned like she had. And she had a feeling that the others felt the same way, even though they wouldn't admit it. After all, she was traveling with four guys.

Before she could even say something, though, Miles had peered around the corner, and he frantically glanced at the group, a surprise since she had never seen him show what he was feeling so openly.

"I see two or three Digimon coming down the tunnel, and if we stay here for much longer they're going to see us," he told them, which caught all of their attention immediately.

For a second, they all looked at Zach in default, but for once he didn't look like he was in charge. Staring miserably at the ground, he couldn't have looked any sadder. Rena almost wanted to apologize, but she was too stubborn for that. So instead, she quickly brushed away her tears and stood up to face the group.

"We are not about to run away after we came all the way up here. Come on, we have to figure out how to open this!" She gripped her purple Digivice before hitting her fist against the wall. They had to open the wall. They had to . . .

"Whoa!" Rena heard, but she knew that it was Logan, probably just pulling some sort of joke, even in a time like this. When she turned though, she saw that he was staring at his Digivice with awe in his eyes, which was glowing a warm orange. Glancing at the others, she saw that their Digivices were glowing as well, and Rena had to stop to really admire them. How could they be so beautiful? But then she looked at where the evil Digimon were coming from, ignoring her own purple light, and groaned.

"Great, now we're, like, signaling them!" she whispered.

Riley tried to comfort her, but she barely even heard him. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out," he said. "You can't just give up!" At that, his green light shot straight from his Digivice into the wall, shining brightly on one of the symbols.

And then, as if starting some sort of chain reaction, four other lights shot onto the wall as well- a rainbow of red, orange, green, blue, and purple. Rena stared at it in awe when suddenly, the whole wall began to glow a beautiful gold, and it began to shift. In the background, she heard a few calls, probably from the approaching Digimon, but surprisingly, she didn't worry about them. The wall was opening . . . they were getting one step closer to their partners.

"Hurry!" she exclaimed, as soon as there was an opening. Before waiting to see if the others followed, Rena hid her Digivice and ran into the dark room. Once her purple light had disconnected from the wall, everything automatically grew darker, and she could only hope the other Digimon wouldn't see them anymore.

Behind her she heard scuffling, which signified the other four boys had followed her. She blinked her eyes rapidly out of habit, but when she realized that it was pitch black in there and it wasn't getting any lighter, she sighed and ran blindly to the back of the room.

"What--," Logan started to say in the darkness, but someone kicked him. "Ow."

"Shut up," Zach retorted.

Together, the group gathered in the back of the room as the wall closed them in, not uttering another word until they were sure they were safe. Riley's breathing sped up, probably because of the small space, but Rena could only hold his hand sympathetically.

After what seemed like hours, although it must have been only a few minutes, Zach whispered, "Uh, I think they're gone. We can probably talk now."

"Brilliant Sherlock," Logan muttered, but then he exclaimed, "Hey! Who's touching my hand?"  
"Why would anyone _want _to touch your hand?"

"Oh, shut up, Johnson! You're jealous of me, because you know I get more girls than you. Are _you _touching me, Fox?"

"No."

"You better not be, because—," but there was a loud hitting noise that interrupted what Logan was saying. The blonde boy erupted in yells and curses before finally calming down, and Rena was staring ahead through it all in confusion.

"That was my _shin! _Ow, God that hurt. Who did that?!"

"_That_ was me."

Miles and Logan continued arguing, but Rena began to zone out when she noticed something. Was that . . . a light, floating? But when she approached it, she realized it wasn't floating at all. There was a glowing symbol on what felt like a rock or egg of some sort, and it was sitting on a pedestal. And when she glanced around, she saw four other glowing symbols as well.

The egg in front of her had the heart symbol, like the one on the wall earlier, so she automatically stayed in front of it. To her right was a sun, and to the left was what could only be described as the yin yang symbol. In the far right sat an egg with a cross on it, and in the far right sat the last egg; Rena thought the picture looked like a sun over a mountain. They were all different, like they were all . . . representing something different.

Without taking her eyes off her own egg, she called out, "Guys, look at these! They feel like eggs or something."

There was more shuffling, but wordlessly, she saw their faint outlines each moving to a different symbol. Jake brushed up against her as he faced the sun, with Logan on his other side. Riley stood in the other corner, while Miles stood between him and Rena.

"Hey, Rena," she heard her brother whisper, but she cut him off.

"Don't worry about it," she replied, reaching out for his hand. "We have better things to do than fight irrationally."

He gave a low chuckle. "Yeah," he added, "I guess we do fight irrationally . . ."

"I mean, it's kinda hard not to freak out and fight when you get sucked into a random world you never knew existed. It's hard to take it calmly."

"Hey, who said you could use my sense of humor?" Even without being able to see, Rena knew he was staring at her with his eyebrows lifted.

She was going to joke with him again, but suddenly something told her it wasn't the time anymore. The symbols were beginning to glow even brighter, lighting up the whole room, and then she realized that the _eggs _were glowing as well! She gasped, stepping back in surprise, as they slowly lifted up into the air.

"What the heck is going on . . .?" Logan asked in wonder, staring at his own egg.

A crack slowly made its way down Rena's egg.

"R- Rena, are you still there?" Riley called, although it was more like a whisper.

"Yeah, I'm still here, Riley."

The crack in the egg rippled into a bunch of smaller cracks.

"What a baby . . ." But Logan's insult stopped in his throat. Rena blinked slowly as she stared at her egg. All five eggs were slowly beginning to break, but she couldn't look away.

_I can't believe this . . . crazy, absolutely insane, I'm back to the idea that I'm dreaming . . . _

But just then, the glowing egg disappeared into nothingness, the room turned surprisingly bright, and five creatures plopped onto the pedestals.

"Hi!" the one in front of Rena exclaimed.

She fainted.


End file.
